Check to see the discounts you qualify for before pricing your options.

These will give you the fastest, easiest way to lower the cost of your installation and help you earn a better ROI.

And if the upfront cost of a solar installation is really the only reason holding you back from switching to solar energy, you can always go with a residential solar lease.

For little or no money down, you’ll have a solar system installed on your property so you can start saving money on your electric bills immediately — no big upfront installation costs to keep you up at night.

Of course this may disqualify you from the state incentives of owning a solar system, but you’ll still be able to lower your electric bills — arguably the biggest perk of going solar — as we’ll talk about later.

3. Solar Energy Isn’t Reliable

It’s true that your solar panels don’t work at night or when it’s super cloudy outside.

If you live somewhere prone to dark and stormy nights, you may feel a little uneasy about relying on something so tied to the sun for your power.

But that’s why most homeowners who go solar still connect to the reliability of the power grid.

After installing your solar system, your solar panels will generate electricity during the day. Because solar energy is so efficient, you’ll most likely generate more electricity than your home can use in a single day.

This extra energy gets sent back to the power grid (and to the electric company).

The electric company will then distribute the energy you’ve contributed to the grid to the other homes, businesses, etc. in your area.

At night when your solar panels aren’t generating power for your home, or when a mega thunderstorm is raging outside your window, you’ll still have electricity thanks to the power grid.

It means the electric company takes the difference between what your solar panels generate minus the energy your home uses.

The net amount is what you’ll be charged.

In most cases, solar panels create so much energy homeowners can either completely eliminate their electric bills or make them so small they’re close to it.

[bctt tweet=”Solar panels create so much energy homeowners can either completely eliminate their electric bills or make them so small they’re close to it.” username=”1stLightSolar”]

5. Solar Panels Will Ruin My Roof and My Property Value

Gone are the bulky solar panels from old science fiction movies. Solar panels these days are slim, modern, and ultra sleek.

There are even solar panels that look like roof shingles to hide their utilitarian nature by blending with the aesthetic design of your home.

With so much demand for attractive solar panels, manufacturers are listening and producing efficient options that add major curb appeal.

When the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development studied the effect of solar panels on property values, they learned that for every $1,000 you save in annual electric costs with your solar system, you’ll earn an additional $20,000 in home value.

6. Solar Panels are Difficult to Install and Maintain Over Time

Unless you have training for solar panel installation, it’s not the smartest DIY to take on yourself.

An experienced technician from a trusted solar energy company will handle the whole process for you so you get it right on the first try.

Once installed on your property, solar panels are easier to maintain than your car.

There are literally no moving parts on your solar panels so they’re way less likely to break down when you compare them to dishwashers, A/Cs, and other everyday appliances.

Just keep them free of debris that could block sunlight from hitting the panels, like falling leaves, snow, bird droppings, and pollen, and they’ll continue to work for you.

Since solar panels hardly ever need to be replaced, you can expect your installation to last the next 20–30 years if it’s properly maintained.

And if you’re leasing your solar energy system, you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Your solar energy provider will take care of your solar panels and make sure they’re running at their best all the time.

Using state-of-the-art monitoring software, you or your solar energy provider will be able to spot drops in efficiency and correct them ASAP so you’re always producing at maximum capacity.

7. The ROI for Solar Energy Isn’t High Enough

To calculate the return on your investment, you’ll need to add up the savings you racked up from your electric bills every month and compare them to the cost of installing and running your solar array.

While installations generally take an average of 4–6 years to pay for themselves, the average homeowner saves over $20,000 over the course of 20 years by switching to solar energy:

Be Honest With Yourself. What’s Stopping You from Switching to Solar Energy?

Change is always hard for people.

But it’s better to clarify the facts so you’re not relying on outdated information during the research stage of your solar energy journey.

Install a solar array on your property and you’ll start to enjoy the benefits of clean solar power from day one. You’ll still have access to the power grid, you’ll just be paying a lot less for the electricity and never struggle with fluctuating energy prices again.

It takes less than 10 minutes for the sun’s light to reach the Earth, and when it does, it has the power to provide electricity for the whole planet for an entire year.